The jockeys will be wearing their silks. You can wear your finest too, and participate in the best-dressed contest at Single Path’s 10th Annual Day at the Races, our yearly client appreciation and networking event. Date: August 4, 2017 Start Time: 2:00pm … Learn More ›

Unfortunately, headlines like these are becoming commonplace, and the range of companies hit by such attacks are both global and wide-ranging by industry. Small- to medium-size businesses are hardly immune. In fact, due to lower protections, they may be more vulnerable to cyber terrorists and hackers.

As we shared in our last blog post, IT security needs be at the very top of every business’s priorities. The simplest malware can cripple a business. The most vicious can bankrupt it.

Are Your Protected Already?

In case of a cyber-attack, what sort of insurance protections do you have in place? Probably very few. Most businesses are surprised at how scant their coverage is; and how costly the damage.

Most traditional commercial general liability and property insurance policies exclude cyber risks. That means most businesses have no means to recover their losses. This has led to the rise of Cybersecurity Insurance (sometimes referred to as Cyber Liability or Data-Breach LiabilityInsurance) as a new, ‘stand-alone’ line of coverage. That coverage can include protection from data destruction, extortion demands, hacking, denial of service attacks, crisis management activity related to data breaches, and legal claims for defamation, fraud and privacy violations.

Cybersecurity Insurance is so new, there are no real industry standards. Insurance company prices and exclusions vary widely. This makes finding the right insurance policy complicated. Businesses should carefully read their Cybersecurity Insurance policy to understand what is covered in the event of a security breach.

The Two Types of Cybersecurity Insurance

As explained by Techinsurance.com, Cybersecurity Insurance falls into two categories: first-party and third-party insurance, although some—but not all—policies cover aspects of both.

First-party coverage is most suitable for non-IT firms. It includes the payment of ransomware, the costs for notifying clients that their information was compromised or exposed, the costs of monitoring services for customers affected by the incident, and the expenses involved in launching a public relations campaign to restore the reputation of the company affected by the breach.

Third-party Cybersecurity Insurance covers companies who are responsible for the systems themselves. These may be the same companies who were breached, or it may involve an outside IT company or independent contractor. It offers liability protection resulting in the release of confidential data and the failure to anticipate or prevent the transmission of a virus to a third party.

Other areas Cybersecurity Insurance can cover include money stolen through an electronic crime, security breaches of employee confidentiality and business interruption insurance.

Will Cybersecurity Insurance Cover Everything?

Unfortunately, Cybersecurity is hardly a panacea for all your cyber threats. As Data Central Journal reports, “Cybersecurity Insurance is so new that underwriters remain unable to easily and accurately assess risk. As a result, they exclude items—such as product designs, software code and reputation loss—that are hard to quantify.”

International Data Group, the world’s largest tech media company, agrees. Per a recent article from their CIO magazine, “Cybersecurity Insurance doesn’t do a good job of covering intellectual property theft or the reputational damage and business downturn that can be caused by a security breach.”

Because of these gaps, you should always start by building a defense against the sorts of malicious attacks that Cybersecurity Insurance is designed to cover. Single Path can provide both—assistance in uncovering your Cybersecurity Insurance needs through a complete risk assessment, but also developing comprehensive IT security, from managed firewalls to proactive Desktop, Server and Network infrastructure patch management.

Cyber threats continue to increase, but by adapting the best security measures, combined with a recovery plan that includes Cybersecurity Insurance, a business will be poised to bounce back quickly. At Single Path, we have already helped businesses like yours do just that. As your IT partner, we will guide you every step of the way, providing expert and personalized advice on all areas of your technology.

It’s not a question of if your business is at risk for a cyber attack. But when. IT security should be at the top of every business’s priorities, and rigorous attention and multiple facets of protection are essential.

Hackers and cyber terrorists are smart and growing smarter. They have access to ever improving technology. While you’re sitting and reading this post, they are probably actively looking for ways to get and exploit sensitive information.

And if you think only big businesses are at risk, then think again.

As we wrote in an earlier blog post, more and more small- to medium-size businesses are falling victim to cyber attacks, often due to the perception of laxer security measures. In the same post, we mentioned that cyber victims may not even be aware of security leaks for months or even years after they happen.

Of course, sometimes a business knows immediately when it has been the victim of an attack. A malicious attack can immediately cripple a network, and the business may even receive ransomware demands—blocking access to data, and possibly deleting or publishing it, until money is paid. But there is no guarantee the payment of a ransom will discourage future attacks; often it encourages them.

So how do you protect your business, and your customers? Here are four layers of protection you should implement immediately, if you haven’t already.

Incorporate artificial intelligence-based security

Endpoint protection is the most common form of security—arming work stations and electronic devices with programs that block or root out malware. We’re all familiar with standard anti-virus software programs, but they are hardly enough to fight off today’s attacks.

Older systems rely principally on signature-based security—software that checks programs against a list of known malicious files, or the signatures of those files within programs. But that form of protection is ineffective against new malware strains, or encrypted ones.

Artificial intelligence-based security works differently. Rather than limiting analyses to specific codes, these programs identify techniques and patterns often associated with malware. They analyze both good and bad software, figuring out what factors, or combinations of factors, are associated with each. The program then calibrates the probability that something could be harmful before accepting it. The more software and malware it examines, the smarter the security system gets. For example, a program that starts encrypting files without notifying the user could be identified as malicious.

But as this article from Forbes explains, analyzing the necessary amount of data to make such decisions would be overwhelming for an IT team; however, “With machine learning, [a] mountain of data could be whittled down in a fraction of the time, helping organizations quickly identify and then mitigate a security incident. Artificial intelligence could be a game-changer for security teams.”

Ensure strong email security

Email is a common entry point for malware, spam and phishing attacks. Deceptive messages can entice recipients to divulge sensitive information, open attachments, or click on hyperlinks that install malware on the victim’s device.

A strong email security system is important which can quarantine dubious emails while letting safer ones through. The best security systems will examine the origin of the email, and analyze its attachments. Tighter security systems often implement email authentication policies, only allowing emails from approved sources.

There are many practical strategies businesses can create to prevent email entry of malware. According to digitalguardian.com, these include:

Educating employees of email security risks

Requiring employees to use strong email passwords

Utilizing email encryption

Insist on best practices for BYOD

Implement scanners and other tools to scan messages and block emails containing malware or other malicious files before they reach your end user

Limit web access to halt Command and Control

Command and Control capability is a critical component of most malware.

For example, let’s say a user searches online for information, and stumbles on a website embedded with small, malicious files. These files reach out to a central server, which then sends malicious commands to a network of compromised computers. These computers can number in the thousands, their malware lying dormant, hidden, waiting to be activated.

These infected computers, each known as a ‘botnet’ (a combination of the words robot and network) can then launch a concerted, organized and overwhelming attack. Botnet attacks are difficult to defend against using traditional security solutions, and can cause considerable, sometimes irreversible damage.

The best defense? Avoid the infection from happening. Software systems can block user access to different websites or even entire website categories. The same systems can also block links.

Have sufficient and timely back-up protection

Once you’ve been hit by a cyber security breach, avoiding damage and removing it from your system can be costly and even impossible. In the end, your best security may be only as good as your last, best back up. For example, rather than paying ransomware, a better option is to restore your blocked information.

Don’t have a back-up plan in place? What are you waiting for? As outlined in our two part blog post on the benefits of the Cloud (Part 1 and Part 2),

Cloud computing offers easier access to files from any location, seamless integration with existing systems, and also superior back-up opportunities and security protocols. Electronic devices can be backed up regardless of where they are located and who is using them, and can rapidly restore a compromised network.

Ramp up your own IT security

Rooting out malware and keeping your system protected isn’t always easy, and getting rid of it can be expensive. But SinglePath can help you get and stay protected, with an IT security bundle that falls within your budget. We work with small- to mid-size businesses like yours, and make sure the size of your budget doesn’t compromise the size of your security. We’ll create a multifaceted, layered approach that will leave you safe from most attacks.

At Single Path we can provide comprehensive IT security, from managed firewalls to data loss prevention threat solutions to risk assessment. We’re a true collaborative partner that can provide expert advice, ongoing analysis of your needs and support. For your IT security needs and beyond, Single Path is ready to serve … and protect.

You’re not just an experienced business owner, but an adept juggler. You have so many balls in the air—so many areas of your business to keep aloft—and you need to keep your eye on them with fine-tuned precision.

So, are you juggling all your IT, too? You probably have a hard enough time with your existing challenges, that even thinking of adding one more seems impossible.

We can help.

Here are seven keys to ensure you remain an expert owner, and IT juggler.

Update your hardware

You may think that hardware updates are an unnecessary luxury. But being proactive is smart business. If you treat hardware as replaceable only in the case of an emergency, it will be impossible to budget. With careful planning you can improve your hardware incrementally, avoiding an ‘all at once’ situation. Create a schedule. Invest in degrees, and only with the technology appropriate for your business.

Of course, the expenses may still not add up. In which case you’ll most definitely want to …

Keep an eye on your budget

IT costs can quickly balloon if you’re not sticking closely to your budget, and one of the fastest ways to ensure your costs are out of balance is to invest in costly infrastructure, which likely needs continual investments and training. One better option may be to rely on a Managed Services provider, like Single Path. We give you access to leading technology without the high initial costs, and by throwing us the IT ball, that makes the rest of your responsibilities a lot easier to keep in the air. We can also review invoices and contracts, negotiate rates with IT vendors and more.

Amp up your cyber security

Keeping your information safe, and the information of your customers and clients, is of vital importance. Nothing shakes the trust of your clientele faster than to suffer from a cyber attack. Big businesses are crippled by such breaches, but smaller businesses can be wiped out entirely.

And don’t think you’re immune. Many hackers find smaller businesses easier to attack, due to laxer security protocols. According to a report by Keeper Security and the Ponemon Institute, 50 percent of small businesses have been breached in the past 12 months.

Embrace big data

As detailed in one of our recent blog posts, more and more small to medium-sized businesses are discovering the importance of big data. But with an estimated 77% of businesses lacking a big data strategy, for most owners it is not top-of-mind.

But maybe it should be. Big data refers to the large volume of data hitting your business every day, from web hits to sales information to data storage. You can bet big businesses are taking hard looks at big data—to plan, to market, and to capture more share. Organizing, analyzing and learning your key performance indicators (KPIs) from such data can make you more intelligent, more agile and better poised to compete. A partner like Single Path can help you navigate big data, and ensure it’s a tool you understand and use to maximum benefit.

Go to the cloud

If you haven’t already, you should strongly consider moving your information to cloud-based services. Not only do cloud-based services save hard drive space, and give you peace of mind from automatic backups, they also make information sharing easy and instantaneous. Pairing them with mobile devices or home-based computers means your team is armed with the data they need, wherever they are.

Manage Your data

Managing data appropriately is a challenge for many SMBs. As we detailed in a previous blog post, data is king, but only if you can find it. Unorganized and poorly named data make accessing it challenging, too much data merely adds clutter, and the lack of a steady back-up system leaves you prone to significant problems. Fortunately, you don’t have to manage it yourself. A partner like Single Path can help with all those challenges, while ensuring regulatory compliance, cost savings, and security.

Find the right partner

No one can juggle every ball out there. According to Guinness World Records, the most balls juggled is eleven, but the record holder couldn’t keep it going very long. You need to keep your balls juggling every day! When you partner with Single Path you get personalized attention and expertise. You get a partner keeping a close eye on your growing network infrastructure, while taking the complexity of managing your servers and desktops off the table. You’ll still have lots of balls to juggle, but we’ll make sure this big one doesn’t get dropped.

The jockeys will be wearing their silks. You can wear your finest too, and participate in the best-dressed contest at Single Path’s 10th Annual Day at the Races, our yearly client appreciation and networking event.

Date: August 4, 2017

Start Time: 2:00pm

Post Time: 3:15pm

Where: Arlington Park

2200 W. Euclid Ave.
Arlington Heights, IL 60006
(847) 385-7500

We’ll serve refreshments and lunch so you can relax and have a galloping good time.

OK, you’ve made the decision to invest in new EdTech resources. Now what? Not only do you have to wade through the nearly overwhelming array of tools at your disposal, but there are so many other things to consider. How? When? Why? What?

While each of these is a critical component of your EdTech decisions, we’d like to present a fifth step when choosing technology: ROI. Or, better yet ROE, Return on Expectations…or, as we prefer to call it, Return on Education.

ROE vs. ROI

While ROI (Return on Investment) is generally computed from purely monetary considerations by businesses when investing in new equipment, educators must rely on other, harder to define metrics. Simply, cost alone won’t determine the effectiveness of your EdTech.

To use ROE, you not only need to determine your specific goals, but uncover ways to measure them. Otherwise, how can you gauge success? If your goal is student achievement, will you measure it through standardized testing, grades, or some other means? If your goal is to increase student engagement, will you measure that through increased attendance or graduation rates? How will you measure improved teacher performance?

Per the online source The Journal, “ROI is calculated by measuring benefits in dollars. But schools are not in business to make money, and should not measure success in terms of dollars. The business of schools is learning. Of course, if technology projects save money or improve efficiency, then a business-focused ROI is useful, but in general it is important to define the “value” of learning in education.”

How To Measure your ROE

With each and every EdTech expenditure must come the expectation of reward or improvement, but the goal of each new tool can vary widely. The more time and money you put into a tool the more results you should expect from that investment. Only by measuring its effectiveness, and continuing to measure its effectiveness, can you know if the investment was a wise one. Then you can decide if it is worth the effort to continue with that tool, or move on to a different one.

Don’t forget, that your initial investment is not the only cost. Do you need to increase your broadband capabilities or incorporate new hardware? What is the cost of training your educators on using the new tools, and is ongoing training needed? When defining the total monetary costs, consider the total expenditures and time needed over a four-year span to determine the true expenses of your investment.

Creating Metrics

According to a post from educational consultant The Flipper Group, here are the 5 Key Indicators of School Performance:

Student Achievement

Discipline Referrals

Attendance Rates

Graduation Rates

Teacher Satisfaction

Fortunately, each of these can be measured, whether from statistical comparisons to developing questionnaires and observation (such as in the case of Teacher Satisfaction). Before looking at these numbers, however, you must set your goals. Keep them realistic, but also lofty. Often you may create a range, determining the minimum number for success, but also striving for a ‘best case’ scenario. Once you reach that minimum number, keep aiming for better and greater results.

Define, Define

As discussed in an earlier blog post, defining goals is a critical component of gauging technology’s success. In that post, we referred to a study by the Center for Digital Education, which came to the conclusion that schools should, at minimum, strive to meet these five technology goals:

Make learning engaging and individualized

Measure student progress against college and career ready standards

Connect teachers to tools and individuals who can help them become effective

Provide broadband connectivity for students

Use technology to become more productive, improve student learning and manage costs

When looking at your EdTech investment, consider each of these points to determine which your new tool will improve. Then, set your method to evaluate them.

We know that defining those goals is not always simple, and neither is setting the gears in motion for measuring them. Finding the right path for your EdTech can be difficult. At Single Path, we work closely with school districts, to help them navigate that path. We provide custom IT solutions for K-12 schools and districts, working closely to help them understand the technology options and choose the right ones. We help implement them, ensure mastery of them, and help maximize their potential. At Single Path, we pride ourselves on not just being an IT resource, but a true collaborative and consulting partner providing advice and ongoing service and support.

Chances are, if you’re the owner of a small to medium-size business, you don’t feel a tremendous sense of urgency to spend your time harvesting extensive customer data. You have your instincts and experience to guide you. And, frankly, you probably feel the expense, time and resources for such an undertaking is hardly worth the effort. That’s why most SMBs leave the big data to the big guys. It is estimated that 77% of businesses don’t have a big data strategy. So why should you?

But big data isn’t just for big businesses. A study conducted in part by The Harvard Business Review, revealed that big data “threatens to create a deep divide between the have-datas and the have-no-datas, with big corporations gaining advantage by crunching the numbers and small firms left to stumble in the dark.”

So how can SMBs avoid this stumbling in the dark, and see the light … without feeling overwhelmed?

Start Now

So what is ‘big data,’ anyway? It’s a term that describes the large volume of data that hits your business every day. It can be an immense amount of information, from web hits to sales information, from data storage to curation— information that can be analyzed for insights that lead to better decisions and strategic business moves—but that is so vast some businesses are paralyzed into inaction.

Just thinking about big data can be intimidating! And where’s a small business owner going to find the time to look at all of it when he or she might already be working around the clock just to keep the business on track?

An article on Forbes.com titled, “Small Businesses Shouldn’t Fear Big Data,” says that “by 2020 there will be 44 trillion gigabytes of information out there; about ten times the amount of data there is today.” The same article admits that much of that data is fleeting and fairly useless. But a lot of it useful, and the article estimates that over the next few years useful information will grow by more than 50%.

So what do you do? Well, whatever you do … now’s the time to start. Many expect the use of big data to become the norm over the next ten years—which means the more you wait the more you risk falling behind.

Keep it Simple

When working with such large amounts of data, you need to pare it down to what’s useful, and ignore what’s not. For example, web traffic is a crucial piece of data—but once you have it, what do you do with it? Spending time analyzing demographics and customer segments can be used to improve marketing efforts. But do you have time to gather that info, let alone analyze it effectively?

Big-data solutions, by their very nature, can impose costs and time burdens that are overwhelming for SMBs. Simplicity and flexibility is key. A big-data solution for SMBs must be easy to deploy and be up and running in days or weeks. Finding solutions that work with your current systems is vital, as is the need to use those systems without expensive specialists or staff training.

So, how do you get started exactly?

Find the Right Partner

SMBs must be focused on their intentions and goals, and selective about what they use. According to an article on Entrepreneur.com, “Just because you can measure it doesn’t mean that you should. Some results simply may not be beneficial.”

That’s where you need a partner, and at Single Path we can help you find the right resources. Tools like Tableau, or software like Hubspot let organizations identify data points to help them evaluate business performance. Companies ranging from giants like IBM and Microsoft, to startups like Kaggle, offer affordable, cloud-based data-crunching services. The choices are plentiful and often exceptional. Of course, determining which company is the right fit is not always obvious.

As we posted in a previous blog, 5 Ways SMBs Can Better Manage Their Data, a partner like Single Path allows businesses to focus on their daily business and their productivity, while also saving a business the cost of hiring additional employees, ensuring regulation compliance and investing in the latest, and maybe unnecessary technologies. With our help, you can start using big data without being overwhelmed.

Get Organized

Keeping a central location for all your data means saving a great deal of time when diving in. An article on smallbiztrends.com, which quotes a study by Aberdeen, says, “The average business intelligence user references 30 unique data sources on a regular basis. When all of your sources are set to automatically aggregate to a central hub, you’ll know exactly where to go to look for vital information about your key performance indicators (KPIs), so you can more easily make data-driven decisions about your business to grow profits.”

Let Single Path Provide the Navigation

SMB owners that use big data will find themselves better poised to compete against bigger players. With the right data, they can make better decisions, avoid actions that waste time and money, and develop a business intelligence strategy to boost sales and the bottom line. SMBs successfully mining big data are using it to uncover customer traffic patterns and understand customers’ behavior better, reducing costs by eliminating inefficiencies, strengthening client bonds by anticipating their needs, and giving employees new tools to perform their jobs better.

At Single Path we provide a comprehensive resource for all your data management needs. We’re not just an IT resource, but a true collaborative and consulting partner providing expert advice, analysis of your needs, and providing ongoing service and support. Let us provide the big support you need to get started using big data.

The vision, a path to get there, and the tools and encouragement to reach it—the superintendent’s leadership is critical in defining all those and more, and nowhere is this more evident than in defining the district’s school technology initiatives. Whether these tasks are delegated to a team, an individual, or even taken on by the superintendent himself or herself, the importance of these tasks cannot be underestimated. And the time to act is now. According to Forbes Magazine, a recent survey by TES Global showed 96% of teachers reported that technology made a significant impact in the classroom.

Education technology is a growing part of any superintendent’s role, but with this responsibility comes not only the excitement of possibility, but also trepidation. There is a lot to tackle, and the learning curve can be long. But if the superintendent understands the following four key elements, he or she can navigate even the rockiest technology waters effectively.

Define Goals

It’s tempting to want to just jump onto the technology bandwagon, but look before you leap: you have to know where that wagon is headed. There are just too many different options out there! Before taking the leap to enhance school technology, the superintendent needs to look at the landscape and figure out not only what technology, but also why the technology. Start with the objective you want to achieve, whether it’s individualized student instruction, augmenting teacher-parent communication, facilitating resource sharing, or all the above.

Connect teachers to tools and individuals who can help them become effective

Provide broadband connectivity for students

Use technology to become more productive, improve student learning and manage costs

Create the Right Team

This isn’t a one-person job. Ensuring the right team is in place is critical for successful technology implementation. As we wrote in our blog post, 5 Ways To Keep Your Teachers and Staff Up-to-Date on Technology, the support team should be flexible and available to train others on any new tool. Your Tech Team can consist of teachers, administrators and support staff. But whoever is chosen, they must be accessible, eager and part of making the decisions that matter. An empowered team is a more effective one.

Proper Training

Just like there are a wide range of technology options, there is a wide range of your staff’s comfort in using them. Some staff members may pick up technology quickly, while others may need a more time-consuming helping hand. But everyone who will be using the technology needs to understand it properly. Technology without proper training is like giving a student a textbook without instructions or lesson plans!

With so many tools out there, each one that is incorporated into curriculum, or into the daily learning environment of the classroom, is doomed to fail without a mastery of expectations and instructions. The right team will go a long way in ensuring proper professional development.

Measure Success

Technology should constantly be examined to ensure it’s meeting expectations. In our recent blog post, The Four Main Steps When Choosing Technology For Your School, we referred to an article on ISTE.org, which stressed how leaders need to continually assess how effectively the technology is being applied. Regular evaluation of how the technology is impacting student assessment and achievement is vital, as is continuously ensuring teachers are successfully applying the technology. Without defining clear metrics to measure success, there will be no way to gauge whether the technology is meeting expectations.

While the potential of EdTech is enormous, it is also daunting. But with the proper leadership and expectations, schools can quickly embrace, master and thrive with the new resources at their disposal. It all starts from the top. And with the superintendent’s blessing, understanding and encouragement, schools are likely to see significant benefits.

At Single Path, we work closely with school districts, top to bottom, to provide custom IT solutions for K-12 schools and districts. We help them understand the technology options, choose the right ones, master them, and ensure the team is using them to maximum benefit. We’re not just an IT resource, but a true collaborative and consulting partner providing expert advice, analysis of your needs, access to cutting-edge technology and assisting in its implementation and ongoing service and support.

Being fluent in technology is make-or-break for many businesses. That’s hardly news and the rewards for small and medium-size businesses are well-documented. According to a study released by Boston Consulting Group1 and commissioned by Microsoft, small and medium-size tech-savvy businesses grew revenue 15 percentage points faster, and grew jobs nearly 2 times faster than their counterparts. Per the study: “Our research confirms that there is a clear correlation between aggressive adoption of new technologies and strong business performance among SMEs.”

Yes, almost half of all small businesses don’t even have websites.

So how tech-savvy is your business? Take this quick quiz and see!

Is your business using cloud computing?

As we have in our previous blog posts on cloud computing (A two part series, April 21 and April 27, 2016), cloud computing provides numerous benefits including significantly lower IT costs and the ability to access a vast array of analytical tools. Single Path works with many SMBs to ensure they are taking full advantage of all the digital technologies available to them.

What would happen to your data and customer information if your business suffered a fire or another disaster?

A. No problem. All of our data is backed up in the cloud or onto off-site servers.
B. We’d have to close for a few days or weeks, but we’d be able to find most of the information, eventually.
C. We’d be toast.

Almost 62% of small businesses (according to YSFmagazine.com) that encountered natural disasters lost crucial data in the last three years. But a disaster doesn’t have to be disastrous. At Single Path we can help your SMB find the cloud-based back-up plan that will protect your information, no matter what.

Is your data storage system organized and accessible to your entire team?

A. Of course. We can work remotely, share files and find what we need quickly.
B. Much of it is, but we usually need a lot of detective work to figure out where things are.
C. Every folder and file in our network is stored and named randomly. We have no idea what we have.

Data is only used if it can be found and accessed. Creating a file naming structure, an organized and central data storage system and instituting a policy for employees to follow, are critical first steps. You can learn more in one of our previous blog posts, here.

Are you regularly collecting customer data?

A. For sure. We accumulate it via sales receipts, social media posts, customer surveys, Google Analytics and more.
B. We store web addresses when people sign up for our newsletter.
C. Data? We don’t need no stinkin’ data.

As we reported in an earlier blog post, “Knowledge is power, and the ability to gather data is increasing rapidly. With new and better information, businesses can adapt strategies to improve business operations and customer experiences.“

Has your business implemented BYOD?

A. Absolutely. Our team appreciates using their own laptops and devices, and it saves us a lot of money on technology.
B. Our team can use their own equipment as long as they have the right operating system, the right apps installed, and lots of time to waste.
C. BYOD stands for … Buy Your Own Doughnuts?

BYOD (Bring your own device) can reduce IT hardware costs, increase efficiency and productivity. But BYOD also exposes businesses to risks. Single Path can help you create and maintain a BYOD program that improves business performance and employee flexibility, securely.

Do you outsource your data management?

A. Yes. That way we can concentrate on what we do best: running and growing our business.
B. We have a tech guy on our team who seems to know what he’s doing.
C. We know a guy who knows a guy.

Small businesses that are not equipped to fully manage their data should rely on an experienced data management company. A partner like Single Path allows businesses to focus on their daily business, and can also provide significant cost savings versus hiring additional staff, investing in technology, and ensuring regulation compliance. At Single Path we provide a comprehensive resource for all your data management needs.

Is your company’s technology fully mobile-compatible?

A. We are! Our website and payment platforms are all mobile-optimized and we have mobile apps for both customers and employees.
B. We know it’s important, but we have other priorities right now.
C. We can text each other.

According to SmallBusinessComputing.com, surveys indicate that 59 percent of small businesses view mobile technology as critical to their business, with 70 percent expecting mobile apps to replace at least some of their current business applications.

So how did you do? Is your business getting all A’s in technology? Anything else and you may be failing. But whether your business is ahead of the class in technology or near the back, a partner like Single Path is crucial. We can help you stay ahead, or start moving forward.

Education Technology continues to spread, with more and more educators excited about the benefits to their students. But while the pace of change is fast, it is also uneven. Some regions, states and districts have embraced EdTech. Others are moving more cautiously. Illinois is one state where EdTech has shown broad reach, and encouraging results. In this post, seven school superintendents, ranging from districts in suburban Chicago to further south near Bloomington, share their wisdom. They each know that making the right decisions is important—decisions that make sense with their district’s budget and circumstances.

Personalized Learning

Perhaps the most revolutionary aspect of EdTech is its ability to make 1:1 implementation possible. With 1:1 implementation, each student’s experience can be unique and tailored to his or her needs. As we wrote in an earlier blog post about 1:1 Implementation, 1:1 allows students to use tools far broader, richer and more engaging than a textbook.

Ellen Conway, the Superintendent for Emmons School District is a strong advocate for this approach. Conway says, “Technology provides unlimited access for all students. From reinforcement to enrichment, all students are given opportunities to learn at their level and at their pace. The integration of technology in our intervention classes stretches the limits of possibilities for our kids!”

Proper Implementation and Training

Schools know that proper implementation of their education technology is vital and should be part of daily curriculum. EdTech only improves learning when deployed frequently and in appropriate environments.

Dr. John Thomas, Superintendent of Community High School District 155 in McHenry County, Illinois couldn’t agree more. He says, “Technology needs to be fully integrated into the curriculum, it should be completely transparent and simply another tool for students to use to succeed.”

But to incorporate technology into daily use, proper staff training is critical. Educators should not only know how to use the tools they are given, but grasp their benefits. As we wrote in our blog post “5 Ways To Keep Your Teachers and Staff Up-to-Date on Technology,” keeping staff up-to-speed can be a job in itself. But, when EdTech is used correctly, the results can be astonishing.

“Providing targeted time for teachers to collaborate daily is critical,” says Dr. Brian Harris, Superintendent of Schools in Barrington, Illinois. “It leverages experiences, drives creativity, and continues to increase digital capacity for instruction. Our teachers are excited to work together to change the way students learn.”

Measuring Achievement

Schools that are diligent about the performance of their EdTech tools will show far greater student achievement. A prudent school is a high-performing one! Daily formative and summative evaluations can gauge student learning, and that data can be then used to determine instruction and accelerate learning strategies.

“We live in a digital age that is innate to our children,” says Diamond Lake School District Superintendent Bhavna Sharma-Lewis, Ph.D. “It is our priority as educational leaders to foster, support and empower digital teaching and learning experiences and provide the resources to help students innovate, create and explore.”

Discover Online

EdTech is about new opportunities, new ways of teaching and opening new doors. Perhaps no tool is more representative of this than the creation of virtual field trips. These enable teachers to take classes on interactive adventures online to any location on the globe.

“Technology has created many new opportunities for students outside their classrooms,” says Guy W. Gradert, Superintendent of the Ridgeview Community Unit School District. “Virtual fieldtrips make it possible for the student in rural Illinois to ‘travel’ anywhere in the world. These types of experiences help prepare our students for the global society they will inherit.”

Helping Students Grow

EdTech also enables students to become better and more empowered learners. For example, encouraging students to use search engines to research information can be a key element in helping them become well versed in self-directed learning and discovery. These are things they will carry with them well past their school-age years.

Jeff Thake, Superintendent of Amboy Community Unit School District says, “Knowledge is power and our students have amazing amounts of power at their fingertips. Facilitating and educating students on how to safely search for answers to their questions and personalizing their learning ensures the creation of lifelong learners.”

Start With The Right EdTech Leader

Every successful EdTech program needs a leader to champion it. That leader must be flexible, passionate and collaborative. Principals and district leadership should have high expectations for their new technology tools, and finding the right leader can be the difference between small successes and much larger ones. As Dr. Stan Fields, Superintendent of Berwyn South School District says, “Great Principals make great schools, not district office administrators.” If your school Principal isn’t your technology champion, chances are he or she will know who should be.

Who will be your champion? At Single Path, we work with your team to provide custom IT solutions for K-12 schools and districts with a four-part approach:

Consult: We can provide a customized technology assessment and a strategic roadmap to change.

Execute: We manage all the details for creating a technology platform that’s right for you.

Educate: We provide expert professional development classes for faculty and staff.

Support: We provide an onsite contact, 24-7 remote management, and an advanced response team available to serve you.

One of the keys to academic success is helping each student learn in his or her own way. Fortunately, there are many exciting technology tools that correspond with each differentiated learning style. Here’s a look at seven common types of learners, and technology tools that match their needs.

1. Verbal-Linguistic

These students learn best through speaking, writing, reading and listening. They excel at note-taking and research. Encourage them with:

6. Intrapersonal

This personality is inwardly focused. These students prefer to think about what they are learning with reflective tools they can later share with others.

wetpaint.com – A wiki where students can reflect on what they’ve learned

eyeplorer.com – Search a topic and take notes all in one place

pbworks.com – Another place where students can create and reflect

7. Musical/Rhythmic

This type of learner is keenly aware of sounds, tones, beats and vibrations. Engage the musicians in your classroom with:

toytheater.com – Interact with music, patterns and sounds

capzles.com – Create audio and video timelines

kids.audible.com – Download and listen to educational audiobooks

Single Path can help you keep up with technology tools for differentiated learning. You may also want to read our blog posts about social media in the classroom (ideal for interpersonal learners), and ways to keep up with changing technology in general. Together, we can help you connect digital learning with student success.

Single Path has many additional suggestions that can help you safely weave digital learning into your school day. Ask us how to get started!